His Last Day
by The Mother Rose
Summary: Once again I decided to beat Naruto up with the angst stick but this time he has no idea what is in store for him as he wakes up.


**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Kishimoto does and he won't sell them to me because he says I'm too mean. He says I'm a murderer.**

_**His Last Day**_

Naruto awoke on Monday morning just as he did on any other morning. The sun was up and streaming through the holes in his shabby curtains directing laser points of light onto his bed and into his eyes. With a groan he reached over and slammed his hand on the button to shut off the annoying jangle of the bedside alarm. Groaning again he pulled the blanket over his head but it was too thin to keep out the annoying sun laser.

In his head Kyuubi did her part to make sure the human she had the misfortune of being stuck with did not go back to sleep. She knew the pink-haired bitch would be here soon to make sure her jailor made it to training on time for what ever mission work the team needed to do today.

Naruto climbed from his bed and walked, more like stumbled, with his eyes still closed to the small shower room to get his mask on. A quick blast of ice cold water woke him all the way and he opened crystal clear blue eyes for the first time of the day. Deep within those eyes a world of pain lay in wait for whoever would take the time to actually look, thought Kyuubi, but of course her jailor did his best to keep anyone from even wanting to try.

He peeled off his boxers and wrung them as dry as he could get them before hanging them over the shower rod to dry. He knew there was a good possibility of coming home in need of a change of clothes before the day was over and he could sleep again. He loved to sleep. Only when he was asleep did he feel without pain. Only then could he forget the harsh words of his teammates and fellow villagers. But you couldn't sleep twenty-four seven. Sometimes he wished he really was Rip Van Winkle from fairytale fame. But he wasn't. He was Uzumaki Naruto instead, famed holder of the Kyuubi no Youki. He stepped out of the shower stall and faced the mirror as he brushed his hair into it's normal untidy spikes. Then dropped his gaze to brush his teeth.

He didn't bother taking a second look. There was no point. He knew what he would see. Shadows of pain and agony were all he ever saw. That and all his myriad of scars. He always saw the scars. He didn't understand why no one else did but then he was the only one who couldn't see the mask he wore so well.

He sighed as he shuffled back into his bedroom to get dressed for the day. He pulled out the costume that went with his mask and got dressed while avoiding looking at himself. He hated the way he looked. Every detail of how he appeared was flawed from the bright orange outfit to the face he wore.

He walked out of the room making the symbols for the genjutsu he used to cover the scars and to keep anyone from noticing how shabby and ill-fitting his clothes actually were. Truth was he couldn't buy new clothes because the store that had allowed him to shop had closed up and gone out of business a long time back. Shortly after the other business owners had found out the owner of the second hand store had sold him the orange jogging suit they boycotted him and attacked his wife and daughter. He'd closed up his shop and left town to keep them safe.

The other store keepers didn't know the man hadn't knowingly sold merchandise to Naruto. Naruto had used a henge to get the clothes but after seeing what had occurred he never did it again. He figured if the villagers beat the hell out of him that was one thing. But he couldn't allow the same to happen to another who hadn't knowingly done anything wrong.

Teuchi, the ramen shop owner, tried to tell Naruto that it was no more than the man deserved but Naruto wouldn't, couldn't agree. He pointed out that it wasn't the owner who paid the price. It was his wife and daughter, who was only five.

He opened his front door to be met with Sakura's fist in his face. She was just about to pound the hell out of his door figuring he would need to be woken up before he'd meet them at the bridge. He dodged at the last second and her fist whistled lamely by his ear. She didn't even notice she missed.

"Oh," she said. "You're ready for once. Well, let's get going. We don't have all day to wait for lazy losers like you." She turned and walked away as if she'd not just about punched her teammate in the face for no good reason.

Naruto shrugged and followed behind her. All the way to the bridge, the other villagers whispered behind their hands when they saw him and threw garbage at him but Sakura who was walking ahead of him never saw any of it. She was off in her own little world of how she could possibly get her Sasuke-kun to go out with her.

Naruto knew Sasuke would never agree to date her or any other girl. Sasuke was gay and would always be gay. One of the side effects of training under and then killing Orochimaru had been an absorption of a part of the man's personality. Of course he just had to absorb the man's sexual preferences but Naruto figured that was ok because Sasuke had probably been homosexual from the moment his world had shattered and left him broken. Of course everyone including Sasuke had tried to tell Sakura that little fact but the pink haired girl wouldn't hear it. She just kept saying he just didn't know how great a girlfriend could make a guy feel and that he would come around once he got used to being home again.

They reached the bridge and found Kakashi and Sasuke waiting for them there. That was unusual. Kakashi was habitually always late by at least three or more hours. Quickly Naruto checked the position of the sun. Maybe he really had been late and missed an earlier wake up call but no the sun was where it was supposed to be for seven am.

"Why are you up and here so early, Sensei? You feel ok?" Naruto asked in his fake chipper voice. "Does it mean we have a really cool ultra important mission only we can do? What is it? Are we needed to go rescue a princess or a shipment of gold or escort a really important ambassador to some really dangerous place?" Questions flew out as fast as his brain could form the words to pose them.

Kakashi reluctantly smiled as he thought _No it's more important than that._ Outloud he put a hand on Naruto's shoulder to stop the hyper boy. "No. There are no missions at all today. Today we are doing something more important. Well, it's a mission but not the normal type of mission. There's no payment being offered for this mission but it is probably the most important mission any of you will ever undertake."

Now he had the attention of all three of his students. He waited for one to ask the question but they all stood quietly.

"Today something should be occurring that is unusual. For the last five years, I have met you all here and waited for someone else to notice what I saw the first day I met the three of you back in the classroom. But it has never happened and I have grown tired of waiting. So I have called my friends to help me." Kurenai, Tsunade and Jiraiya stepped out of concealment and Naruto grew apprehensive. Somehow he didn't like where this was going. Kakashi stepped to one side of Naruto keeping a firm grip on his shoulder as Jiraiya stepped up on his other side. He also took hold of the boy.

Kakashi continued but it was clear he was only talking to Sakura and Sasuke. "One of the first things I ever told you was to learn to look underneath the underneath. I drilled it into your heads that a ninja must know what is hidden away. But you have both disappointed me. You did not see what was in front of you all along. Today you will. Kurenai, if you would be so kind as to remove his mask."

Kurenai stepped forward and performed the Henge removal jutsu. The henge dropped to reveal the tattered and ill fitting clothes. Sakura couldn't contain her burst of laughter at Naruto in his ill-fitting clothes. Even Sasuke wore an amused smirk. The adults frowned but no one said anything as the two chunnin members of team seven laughed at their genin teammate.

"Hold up," said Kurenai. "He's multi-layered his genjutsu. I thought everyone always said he wasn't any good at genjutsu." Again Kurenai flashed through the hand signs and said, "Kai". A bruised and battered Naruto stood before the group. A long scar cut across his face nearly dissecting it in two equal parts. One half was marked by pocked and puckered skin, the obvious remnants of either acid burns or fire. Dark shadows ringed his eyes making their blue color all the more apparent.

Tsunade stepped forward as Naruto turned his face away and snarled, "Let me go. You've had your fun now. Have a good laugh." He twisted and turned but the two men holding him wouldn't let go. The deep carved "D" on the side of his face was clearly revealed when he had turned his head.

"What the hell happened to you, Dobe?" asked Sasuke. "Prank the wrong person?"

"Obviously," laughed Sakura. "It's not like anyone would do that to someone who didn't deserve it. And his pranks are notorious." She turned her nose up before adding, "I told you, Baka, that Sasuke was better looking than you. At least his good looks aren't forged."

All four of the adults were stunned. They had thought when the duo finally saw the real condition of their teammate they would be sympathetic but no they had to heap insult to injury. The adults shared a look of disgust before Tsunade moved forward again.

"Well, are you going to answer me or am I going to have to beat the shit out of you first," asked Sasuke.

Naruto turned blazing eyes on him but said nothing. There was absolutely no way he would tell this spoilt punk anything about his life. Sasuke had no compassion after he had finally managed to kill Itachi and learned the truth of why his whole clan had died. His last shred of compassion had died when he had learned the clan had not deserved to be avenged after he had sacrificed everything in his life to get it for them. When he had come back to Konoha only Naruto had seemed to avoid him. Only Naruto had seemed to understand all the changes in the Uchiha were soul deep. He knew the Uchiha was just barely human any more and would never return to the person the villagers had thought him to be. You didn't kill your brother without sacrificing a part of yourself. He knew that since his brother had killed the clan for the right reasons Itachi had been able to retain most of his humanity but Sasuke was different. He killed Itachi even after he knew why Itachi had committed genocide. Therefore what Sasuke sacrificed was never coming back.

"Guess you're gonna have to beat him and show him who's stronger again Sasuke-kun," said Sakura moving to her usual place at the edge of the training field. "He obviously has forgotten that when you ask him something or even speak to him the polite thing to do is answer you."

"No. Noone will touch him. I am ashamed of both of you," said Tsunade glaring at the pair. "We thought Naruto was accepted by the two of you enough that you would have some compassion when you finally saw the real boy but it appears he was right and we were wrong. Naruto, I'm sorry we made you drop your masks. We really only wanted to help you." She had tears in her eyes but she held them in as she gazed at him.

"Did you really, Hokage-sama? Did you ever think for one minute about why the masks were there in the first place? Or did you just think I was too stupid to know what I was doing? Now let me go so I can put them back on before it's too late."

Kurenai spoke. "I'm sorry but that won't be possible today. The jutsu I used will keep you from using any kind of a henge for the entire day. The next twenty-four hours you will be yourself and only yourself."

"Congratulations then. You've managed to sign my death warrant."

"Oh no. You don't get to die today," said Kakashi. "Tsunade will heal as much of the damage as she can and then we are going to stay with you everywhere you go just to make sure you don't slip away from us like that."

"Oh and who's we? Those stupid spoilt brats over there and you who can't take his nose out of his smut for more than twenty minutes without going into withdrawal? Some protection the three of you will be. Those two will help whoever decides to end my life today and join the idiots who will rejoice in seeing how they hurt the Demon."

"Just because someone finally realized you're a Dobe and marked you as one doesn't mean I will allow anyone else to do my job in beating the shit out of you," snapped Sasuke.

"You idiot!"Kakashi snapped back. "The "D" doesn't stand for Dobe. It's been there all his life. Well at least since he was five or so."

"Then what does it stand for?" asked Sakura getting curious for the first time.

"None of your business," said Naruto in a quiet voice knowing his secret was about to be revealed anyway.

"It's Naruto's story to tell," said Tsunade as Jiraiya and Kakashi both opened their mouths to tell the duo. "If he doesn't think they deserve to know then we have no right. It's clear he knows these two better than we do. We've done enough harm here already. His masks are gone and he obviously needs care more than confrontation right now. Kurenai, could you maybe go shopping and get him some clothes that actually fit and don't look like cleaning rags?"

"Hai," said the red eyed woman as she carefully looked the deformed child up and down. She slowly walked away towards the business district of the village. Tsunade had tried to warn her that whatever Naruto hid under his genjutsu was likely as not going to be ugly but still she hadn't been prepared for what she'd seen. The boy looked terrible. Not only was his face full of scars but his whole body was. His spine was bent and misshapen as was his right arm and left leg. It was a wonder he'd been able to be a ninja at all the shape his body was in. Yet she couldn't deny that he was a great ninja. One of the best of his generation. Now that he couldn't see them she let her tears fall silently down her face. She knew just from seeing him as he was how deep his pain had to run and yet he'd never cried that anyone could see. He kept it all inside.

Asuma met up with her and asked what had her so upset. She told him about what she had learned and Asuma closed his eyes. He knew all about the real condition of the boy and had done his best with his own team of genins to change the way they saw the kid. He told them that if ever there was someone in the village they should admire it was Naruto. Only Chouji and Shikamaru were at all curious and took to watching the boy whenever they could.

Kakashi dismissed the other two members of his team telling them they need not show up for training or meetings until they learned to have hearts. He had no use for people who cared only about themselves.

Sakura shrugged as she walked away not really caring about the monster kid in front of her. "Oh well, I'll see you tomorrow then, Kakashi-sensei. After all, just because I don't care that someone gave him the beat-down he's had coming doesn't mean I have no heart. Who really cares about a Bakamono like him anyway?" She never saw the blow coming that had her on the ground eating a mouthful of dirt.

"Don't ever let me hear you call him that again," snarled Tsunade.

"Why? It's true. That's what my Mom said when she found out he was on my team," quivered the girl from her position on the ground.

"He is not a demon."

"My Mother doesn't lie. She said he was Kyuubi reincarnate. So yeah. He is a Bakamono and no one can say otherwise. Even he isn't denying it, if you'll notice," sneered Sakura.

"So your power isn't really your own at all. It was stolen from a demon huh," said Sasuke. "I knew no mere nobody could actually beat me. Fine. I'll rid this village of you once and for all now that I know what you are. I'll prove I am the best ninja this village has ever seen by doing what the Fourth failed to do. The Uchiha clan truly is the best of all the clans to have ever called this low village home. It was always the village's mistake to undervalue us and I will prove it in your blood. You have met your end Kyuubi." Sasuke powered up his chidori and ran toward Naruto but before he could make contact Naruto was gone.

Jiraiya had heard enough. He'd tried to tell Kakashi and Tsunade that this was a bad idea but neither of them could stand it anymore and thought that by forcing the issue they would finally be able to force Naruto to accept help. Instead his teammates had proved to be just like the villagers he wore the masks for. Once they were away from the group he pulled Naruto close and just held him. "I'm sorry, Kid. I tried to tell them this was a bad idea but they only want to help you. They don't understand. So I came to be sure you were safe. I will not let them hurt you any more. We will hit the road as soon as I get the clothes and supplies from Kurenai and your place. For now just relax and get some rest. I'll stay and guard you while you sleep."

Naruto relaxed and settled into a resting position on the ground. Jiraiya had brought them to a clearing in the woods not far from the walls of Konoha. But the spot was secluded and if you didn't know it was there you'd never find it.

"Did you eat this morning?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "I wasn't really hungry. Didn't have time anyhow."

Jiraiya sighed and muttered, "I doubt there's any food in your place anyway," as he handed the boy a nutrition bar. "I know they don't taste the greatest but they're packed with nutrition that you desperately need. I have got to get your weight back up where it belongs."

"Why does it matter, Ero-Sennin? No matter how long we travel you always bring me back here and we just go through all this same crap again. Why not just stop pretending anything will ever be normal for me?"

"Because someday, Naruto things have to come right for you. No one can have a life like yours and survive it as well as you have unless things were going to get better. It has to happen."

"It will never happen, Sensei. I gave up a long time ago on foolish childish wishes like that. Yondaime cursed me the day I was born and the villagers have never let me forget how little he thought I was worth." He was sitting quietly with his eyes closed and so he didn't see the anger Jiraiya couldn't hold in. "To them, he's the Hero I murdered and always will be. But, I'm sorry. I just can't see him the same way. I've tried but to me he is a Demon worse than Kyuubi could ever be because he did this to me and I did nothing to deserve it but be born. I didn't even have the luxury of being born when I was ready to be born, did I? Even that choice was taken away from me."

Silence filled the clearing as even the woodland creatures seemed to know now was not the time for birdsong and cheer. Quietly Naruto continued speaking, "There's no point in anything any more. One day I will not be looking in the right direction and Sasuke will kill me. He has no compassion left as he gave it up in order to kill his brother. Therefore he is more of a demon than I am. He has vowed to rid the village of me by killing me and finishing what the Yondaime started and he will do it. So I can either wait to die by Sasuke's hand or I can end it myself. Kyu wants me to set it free first but I won't. Not so long as there are those I care about still alive. I will do the task I was charged with at my forced birth. I will take the Demon to hell with me and one day I will see Sasuke there. Never trust him Sensei. He is no longer human." The tired boy stood and walked away from the Hermit Sage.

Later no one could understand why Jiraiya had not followed him or tried to stop him but for the rest of his days Jiraiya never spoke of what Naruto had told him in the clearing. He never took another student or wrote another Icha Icha book. He did write a horror story based on a golden haired child who suffered every day of his life and strove to become someone worthy of notice and the book was a best seller. It was selling off the shelves faster than it could be printed five years later but Jiraiya didn't care. He became the hermit he was named for being and only Tsunade knew where he was.

Tsunade framed the necklace she had reclaimed when Naruto was discovered. She would never give it to anyone else again. She also quit drinking and gambling saying there was no point now that she had lost everything worth having. Her last big gamble had cost a mistreated child she loved his last illusion and broken his heart in the process. She kept a portrait of him on the wall of her bedroom and a smaller picture on her office desk so that she would never again forget the importance of not meddling with other people's destiny. She knew this whole situation was her fault because she had misread the two people who should have cared about the boy the most. She should have believed he knew them better than she did. Until her dying day she never forgave herself for the harm she had done.

Neither did Kakashi. From the day he had stopped Sasuke's attempt to murder Naruto in cold blood he had avoided the Uchiha whenever he had to be in the village. He had resigned as the Sensei of Team Seven and gone back to work in the Hunter nin squad. He took the most dangerous missions they had and often worked without back-up. Though he won almost every conflict he got into there did come the day when he lost. As his life fled from his body he reached up and lowered the mask he'd always hid behind. A gentle smile crossed his lips and he whispered, "I'm coming to you Naruto. Your Sensei is coming." His eyes stared lifelessly at the treetops when his squad found him and took him home for burial.

Sakura never did succeed in getting Sasuke to marry her but she did have his child as the council decided to forcibly take his seed from him to restart the Uchiha clan. Six months after the child was born to her, and to five other girls of a similar age, the babies all mysteriously died in their sleep. Four little boys and two little girls died within the same hour and no one could say why but the next morning the Uchiha was found hanging from his shower rod with massive bruises and broken bones. It was clear someone had beat the crap out of him and then hung him up like a side of beef. Blood pooled in a small lake at his feet dripping off the side of each foot and only the council actually wanted to find the murderer. No one else gave a damn. Not even Sakura who grieved for her baby boy she had called Naru after the teammate she had never known.

Because after his death her Master, Tsunade, had sat her down and told her the truth of Naruto and just who exactly he was. She had listened for five hours as her mentor had talked and showed her proof to back up her words. Pictures of a very pregnant woman smiling beside a man who was obviously the Yondaime. Naruto's true birth certificate that he'd never even seen. The letter written by the Yondaime telling not only Naruto but whoever read it the truth of who the boy really was and why he had sealed such a terrible burden into him. Sakura had listened as her teacher told her of the three children who had been available for that job the Yondaime gave to Naruto. The Nara boy was heir apparent to his clan and to have used him would have been unconscionable. The second Uchiha, though not a clan heir, was unsuitable due to both the clan bloodline and the fact that he did not have the possibility of ever having enough chakra to maintain the seal. It had always been known that the bloodline of the Uchiha's made them more prone to falling away from the light in terms of humanity. So, even though Sasuke's father had offered his second born son, the Yondaime rejected the child.

Instead he chose to force labor onto his wife to bring his own child into the world a month early. It was that forced birth that had cost Naruto's mother her life as her chakra was still swirling in and out of the forming child. When her labor had been induced to bring him into the world they had tried to seal her chakra away from the child but Naruto had taken it with him through the umbilical cord that connected mother and child. She had died from lack of chakra as her child had tried to stay connected to his mother.

Every word she heard made her guilt deeper for how she had treated him on the last day of his life. She never forgave herself and devoted herself, after the death of little Naru, to taking care of stray children. She taught those who were bullied to defend themselves and sheltered those who had none. She taught them to read and to write and went shopping for them when they had a need. She became known on the streets to all the orphans as the Crying Lady because whenever she saw a child in need her heart and head remembered the one she hadn't seen at all.

Hinata was the only other member of the rookie nine who took Naruto's passing hard. She had always known about the scars and the beatings. She had done her best during his lifetime to make sure she was always there for him because she knew he had no one else who would be. She had never loved him the way everyone thought she had because that kind of love was for adults and they weren't adults yet. Instead she cared for him as one human being to another. She believed in him and helped him to stand tall when his own will power wasn't enough for the job. When he despaired she gave him hope and put on his masks for him holding them in place until he could manage to do it himself. No one ever suspected how deep the bond between the two really went or just what he truly meant to her but after his passing she was the one that tended his grave every week. She was the one that always spent a day telling the specter only she could see what was happening in the village. Though Neji had carved Naruto's name into the memorial stone it was at her request so no one would be allowed to simply forget him as the council made clear they wished to see happen.

Iruka retired as soon as Konohamaru and his friends passed as genin. He just couldn't face the bright happy faces anymore now that his favorite face was no longer in the world. Like Jiraiya he became a hermit rarely if ever venturing out of his home. Sakura did his grocery shopping for him and visited from time to time just to share the pain with someone who understood. He died a sad old man with a picture of himself and a grinning blond-haired blue-eyed imp of a boy in his hands. Those who found him wondered aloud who the boy was and were told the story of Uzumaki Naruto.

In the center of Konoha if you were to go there now you will find a statue. A life-sized golden statue of a boy with a mile wide grin and his thumb in the air. The plaque on the statue simply bears his name. Namikaze Naruto. If you want to know more just ask any villager. They will be happy to tell you.

**Author Note: Ok yeah I know I did it again. Poor Naruto. I just can't help but let the poor kid die. He suffers so much from those stupid villagers that I just can't stand it and I really hate abusive girls. No one can convince me it's normal to bonk your friends on the head for saying good morning or asking you out on a date. I'm female and I never once hit a guy no matter how ugly I thought he was just for asking me out. Hell, given my care-givers at the time, any boy that worked the courage up to ask me out deserved a medal.** **So anyhow, though I know I killed him off again, don't forget to send me a review and let me know what you think. Also I'd like to know which of my stories you liked the best and why if you wouldn't mind. Give me some idea what area I should work on next. Mother Rose**


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